Discoveries
by mischief maker 2.0
Summary: It all started with a table. [Sakuracentric] mentions of het, yaoi, and yuri


**A/N: **for wildwesternwind. This was as close to Gaara/Sakura as I could get.  
**Pairings**: TemSaku and hints of NaruSasu and not-really SakuGaara  
**Warnings**: vague mentions of sex. Oh, and I managed to fit het, yaoi, and yuri all in one fic. Go me! XD  
**Disclaimer:** Still don't own it.

--

Sakura downed a cup of sake with a grimace. This trip to Sand Country to pick up some rare desert plants was supposed to be a pseudo-vacation to get her mind off things. So far, it wasn't working. She'd collected all the plants earlier that day and was left with nothing else to do but brood over her very motivation for the trip in the first place.

The memory of it still burned almost as badly as the sake in her throat.

_A week earlier…_

"Sasuke-kun! Sasuke-kun!"

She was so excited to tell him the good news about the results of her latest research project that she simply barged in without thinking. The situation she walked in on, though, was quite unexpected.

Sakura would never forget to knock ever again, that much was certain.

A few minutes later, the pink-haired medic found herself sitting across from her teammates at the very kitchen table she'd just seen Sasuke being violated on – the image would forever be burnt into her retinas, of course – as she quietly stared at the cup of tea in front of her, her brain working furiously to wrap itself around the situation.

"So," she drawled, finally breaking the exceptionally awkward silence between them. "Are you _together_? Or was this just a…?" she couldn't quite bring herself to finish that sentence.

"Together," Sasuke answered.

"Oh," she replied numbly as she nodded. "For a while?"

"About a week."

"Were you going to tell me?"

"Of course," Naruto answered as he scratched distractedly under the edge of his forehead protector. "It just never seemed like a good time, ya know?"

"Yeah."

---

It had been a bit of a slap in the face to discover the boy who'd spent years pining after her was suddenly with the boy _she'd_ spent years pining after. It was one of the moments in her life that had left her thinking, "Wait. _What!_"

The sting over losing Sasuke hadn't been as bad as she had expected at least. Sure, it still hurt, but over the years, she'd steadily lost hope in the idea of him returning her affections. Of course, there was still the whole 'he has to restart his clan _eventually'_ thing, but it was locked away in the tiny, little corner of her heart that had silently agreed with Ino's comment that 'maybe Sasuke-kun doesn't swing that way.'

She couldn't deny the pang of jealousy she now harbored toward Naruto, though, because really, in the odd moments she allowed herself to entertain thoughts of Sasuke ending up with a guy, she'd always pictured him with a sophisticated pretty boy. Someone like Neji maybe. Not their obnoxiously loud teammate with whom he fought constantly. Although if Sakura really sat and thought about it – which she did; she'd obsessed about it for _days_ – she supposed that he was probably the only one Sasuke would let get close enough, and that probably wasn't by choice. Naruto had a way of busting past personal defenses both literally and figuratively.

A few days later, after the initial shock had finally worn off, Sakura had found herself wondering if Naruto's attraction to her had all been an act. Her would-be suitor had always been obsessed with Sasuke to the point that most villagers had seriously questioned his sanity. If his promise to bring the younger Uchiha back had really been motivated by hidden romantic feelings, where did that leave her? She didn't exactly have men beating down her door.

In fact, Naruto, she thought dejectedly, had just about been the _only_ one to comment on how she looked or smelled regularly, and despite the fact that he'd always ruin the moment by making some other tactless comment, she'd come to enjoy his attention. Even if she could never see herself with him, he still made her feel attractive, appreciated, not just some brainy chick with a small chest, huge forehead, and monstrous strength – though he did have the annoying habit of mentioning that last one _way_ too often for her tastes.

But if Naruto was gay, did that mean it had all been a lie? Did he find her attractive or had he been saying that stuff just because he felt he was supposed to? Did _anyone_ find her attractive? Did they exist and were just terrified of being pummeled to death by approaching her?

"Geez, _that's_ a depressing thought," she grumbled and poured herself another cup.

Oh sure, there was Lee, but that was different. He still referred to her as Sakura-_san_. He always kept perfect eye contact when speaking to her; she'd never once caught him staring at her chest. Everything about him was proper and honorable, which was obviously not a bad thing. It was wonderful, in fact. More ninja should be like him, she thought.

But what she craved had nothing to do with honor. She's seen the way men look at Ino, and while she was sure it had to get old for her friend, Sakura couldn't help but wish just a few of those 'I could do _nasty_ things to you right here and not give a damn who saw' leers would turn her way every once in a while.

_I'm a woman, damn it! I have boobs, and a damn nice ass if I do say so myself. So why the **hell** is it that the only guy who ever seemed to notice just up and decided one day he'd rather be gay with his childhood rival!_ Inner Sakura seethed.

She swiftly emptied her cup and slammed it down on the bar. "Okay, someone in here has to have a wandering eye," she grumbled as she tugged the zipper of her top down as far as she could and still be decent. It probably would've had a better effect had she been wearing a push-up bra instead of the bindings, but one must make due with what one has, right? It was a lot more skin than she normally showed at any rate.

After spinning around on her stool and leaning back against the bar propped up on her elbows, Sakura let her eyes scan over the small room. Someone in here had to have a wandering eye, and she was going to make the most of it, she decided. She'd smile, uncross and re-cross her legs, flip her hair, and a half-dozen other things she'd seen Ino do when they went out together. She'd flirt a little and maybe even let him buy her a drink before declining any further company and scurry off to bed. Yep, sounded like a good plan in her head.

Unfortunately there were all of five people in there including herself and the bartender.

Sakura sighed. Okay, one of these three people _might_ have a wandering eye. She started with the first table. There were two men sitting there. One of them had his back to her; the other was looking at her and grinning. He was missing a tooth, and he was _old_.

She shuddered, and when she turned her gaze to the other occupied table, she had to hold onto the bar to keep from falling over.

Gaara! Why did it have to be _Gaara_?

Okay, slight amendment to the plan: hang around long enough to get him to look, then quickly scurry off to bed before things can get any further. Right.

He wasn't looking at her, though. His eyes were so deeply focused on glass in front of him she thought it might break. He was a lot better than he used to be; she could admit that much. Without Shukaku, he lost that I'm-a-_complete_-psychopath thing he had going, but he was still creepy as hell. In fact, Sakura doubted she'd ever be entirely comfortable around the Kazekage despite whatever Naruto said about him.

But right now wasn't about being comfortable. It was all about being ogled.

Starting with the legs – one of her better attributes if you asked her – Sakura extended one and reached down to adjust one of the buckles of her shin guard. A quick glance out of the corner of her eye told her he hadn't noticed.

She sat back up and fanned herself exaggeratedly with the flaps of her tops a few times. Still nothing.

With a sigh, Sakura 'dropped' one of her kunai, slid off her barstool to retrieve it, and made as much of a spectacle as she could in bending over and picking it up off the floor. He didn't even blink.

"Is he asleep with his eyes open or something," she grumbled under her breath as she climbed back into her seat. When she turned to pour herself some more sake, however, she was startled by the grinning face suddenly next to her and almost dropped the bottle.

"Temari-san!" As Sakura took a few deep breaths to calm down, she noticed that the devious smile on the other kunoichi's face had yet to leave.

"Taken an interest in my lil' brother, I see."

"I… Uh. What?"

The blonde laughed heartily then and helped herself to some of Sakura's sake. "Calm down. I won't hold it against you."

The only response the leaf nin could manage was the opening and closing of her mouth as she watched the other girl swallow her drink without so much as a wince.

"You _are_ wasting your time, though," Temari sighed as she set the cup down on the bar and glanced over at her brother. "Gaara's got the sex drive of a dead panda."

Sakura found herself smiling inwardly just a little despite the weirdness of the situation. Maybe she wasn't the defective one here after all. She watched the Kazekage for a minute and felt a small amount of pity for him given this new insight.

"It's a shame really," the sand kunoichi added, her voice this time low and playful. "Dumb boy doesn't even realize what he's missing."

Even in her more than slightly inebriated state, the tone of that comment put Sakura on edge. She glanced over to see Temari's gaze lingering on her legs a bit too long to be casual.

"I…" she trailed off, wide-eyed and more than a little unsure of what to say. Should she say _anything_? Perhaps she should just pretend to not get what was really being said.

When Temari's eyes finished their little road trip over her body and finally met her own, though, Sakura realized it was much too late to feign ignorance. Sakura swallowed and hoped she didn't look as hopelessly shocked as she felt, and if she was blushing… well, she could blame that on the alcohol, at least.

"Okay, I'm off to bed." And with that sudden announcement, Sakura hopped off her stool and began digging through the pouch on her hip for her money.

Beside her, Temari also stood, chuckling as she turned toward her brother and yelled, "Gaara, time to go. Kankurou's waiting." It was the first time that evening she'd seen Gaara even acknowledge that there were other people around him, but oddly enough Sakura wasn't gaping at him, just the brash kunoichi walking away from her. Before reaching her destination, though, she turned and added over her shoulder, "I'll wait 'til next time for you to decide if that was an invitation or not."

As Sakura watched the blonde throw her a wink and quickly usher her brother out of the room, she could do little more than smile awkwardly and think that perhaps the creepy siblings from Sand Country weren't quite as scary as she first thought. She might even come back sometime.

Sakura was due a vacation, after all.


End file.
